Wish I Had an Angel
by Arthasvs.Leon
Summary: The next day after saying his Goodbyes, Leon Kennedy listens to a familiar song and comes to a realization. A Claire/Leon for all to enjoy!


**Author's Disclaimer****: **Despite all wishes, prayers, hopes and dreams…

I do not own the rights to _Resident Evil_. That dream belongs to Capcom.

So sad (

Leon set his head back and listened to the music coming from the buds of his iPod. For a moment, he wished he was alone, as opposed to sitting in seat 12C on Flight 302 to Spain, if only so that he could sing the lyrics to _Freewill_ along with Geddy Lee and move his hands to Neil Peart's tempo.

A smile crossed his lips. One of his more bizarre habits was that he loved to sing when he was alone. It didn't matter if he was in the car, the shower, or working out whilst watching tv, if he was alone, he would almost always have a tune on his lips, normally a Rush song. Claire, who was perhaps the only person Leon felt comfortable enough to sing in front of, would often laugh and comment on how he should sign up for _American Idol_, to which Leon would always say that the show was fervently against the greatest band in the world.

The tune shifted from_ Freewill _to _Roll the Bones_, and Leon found himself smiling softly to himself for a second time as he recalled how Claire reacted when she first saw his extensive Rush collection.

_"You know, there are other bands in the world._" Her voice echoed between his ears, and he found himself chuckling lightly when his own echo answered back.

_"Yeah but most of them aren't worth listening to."_ Leon had been brought up listening to the great classic rock bands, and no matter how Claire tried, he couldn't bring himself to like any of the new stuff.

_"Sorry, Claire,"_ the words billowed like a cloud of dust in a storm, _"Consider giving up on me."_

Just as the words vanished back into the fog of his mind, the dinging of the "Fasten your seatbelt" light snapped Leon back to reality. He turned the iPod off and shoved it back into his pocket before securing himself to the seat and set his head back as far as he could into the cushion.

Leon's credentials and mission priority allowed him to pass through every security checkpoint as if he was a ghost. When he made his way to the entrance, he saw a tall, suit-clad man carrying a sign with his name, just like a scene out of a bad movie. The secret agent made his way over to the man with the sign, who shook his hand and ushered him into the back seat of a sleek black car.

As they drove along, Leon pulled out his files and started looking at all of the information he had on Ashley Graham. He had no idea how involved his driver was on his mission, so he kept his mouth shut. After all, the President himself said that the mission was considered the highest priority of secrecy, and only a handful of people in the entire world knew why Leon Scott Kennedy, former would-be member of the R.P.D. and anti-Umbrella veteran, was in Madrid at this moment, so the driver might be just as ignorant as the rest of the world.

All the while they drove; Leon found it hard to keep his mind on the memos and files in front of him. He felt his thoughts pull him back to his favorite redhead, lying on her back underneath the engine of a Harley she was customizing for them to ride together one day.

The idea of riding off into the sunset with Claire Redfield atop one of her now-famous motorcycles drew a smile on Leon's face. There was something about being with Claire that made him… happy.

Before he could dwell on the idea any more, the car came to a stop and the driver escorted up the steps of the United States embassy. He spent the next four hours being briefed and given his instructions on his mission, who to deal with and how to get around some of the local red tape, and of course, the importance of keeping the mission a secret to everyone, even the people he was working with.

Finally, a weary and worn-out Leon made his way out of the briefing room to his quarters, where he would be spending whatever spare time he had reviewing the work he had done. The four-poster bed taunted and teased Leon like a lover who knew the agent was wearing a federally mandated chastity belt against the idea of sleep. No rest for the wicked, so there should not be any for those hunting the wicked.

As Leon Kennedy began unpacking his clothes and equipment, his mind turned to distract him for the third time today with thoughts of his best friend. This time, he made no effort to resist the wanderings and chose to follow his mind wherever it wished to take him.

Leon pulled out his iPod and started listening to the music again. A smile crossed his lips as he heard Claire's favorite song playing.

_"I wish I had an angel for one moment of love! I wish I had your angel tonight!"_

Claire may have failed getting Leon to like bands like Disturbed, but she certainly succeeding in getting him addicted to Nightwish. Her one big success.

It was Claire's boyfriend, Justin, who got her into the band.

A frustrated sigh came out of Leon's mouth at the thought of that cocky bastard. Ever since he met Justin about a year ago, there was something about him that he could not stand. Justin was a pot-smoking slacker who spent most of his time playing Playstation 2 games, hanging out with his fellow stoners, and pretending to make a living by working for Claire part-time. Even though Leon thought the lazy fool was nowhere near good enough for Claire, he kept his mouth shut for fear of offending her and her choice in men. Yet his silence did little to change his mind about Justin, and Claire seemed to be more than aware of Leon's disgust and disliking of her boyfriend.

Still, it was not like Leon could do anything to change her situation. He had no friends that he would even consider good enough to date Claire, even though they were good military men with respectable backgrounds, for the most part, at least. And even if he did do something, would Claire see it as just his way of trying to control her?

Leon shook his head in frustration. Claire was, as she was her entire life, a free, independent woman who was more than capable of making her own choices and dealing with whatever situations came to hinder her progress through life. He knew from experience that his best friend, the one who relied on him to save a little girl and get their escape route and then relay a message to her brother only a few months later about rescuing her, was someone who could take care of herself. It was one of the things he admired so much about her.

It wasn't just that he admired her. He… how could he explain how he feels about Claire? What would be the best way to describe their relationship?

Leon hated using words like "siblings" to describe friendships, no matter how close they became. Even that word, which was used to mean the ultimate in intimacy, was too weak and inaccurate for Claire and Leon's...

Come to think of it, what could describe their interaction? He put his shirts away and walked over to the window. He couldn't exactly just call it a friendship, so… there was only one other word for it.

Yet that word was meant something that terrified Leon and shook the otherwise calm agent right to his very core. It was a word that stood for commitment, intimacy, and all of the other things that Leon and Claire had, but it still scared him more than anything else in the world.

After all of the zombies, lickers, hunters, tyrants and other monstrosities, Leon Scott Kennedy was scared that he was slowly falling in love with Claire.

No, not slowly falling. He was practically head-over-heels for her! The realization struck him like tidal wave and knocked him back against the wall.

He pulled the iPod buds out of his ears at the lyrics, _"Old… loves, they die hard!"_ and thought why he was so wrong with loving Claire. Justin aside, what was keeping him from running up to her every day for the last six years and telling Claire exactly how he felt?

The answer came from the buds that lied on the floor, their song still playing. _Old… lies, they die haaarder!"_

And that's when it struck Leon with the force of a hammer. Ada.

For the last six years, he allowed the memory of that woman he met in the garage of the Raccoon City Police Station to haunt his every waking moment. He had loved and lost before, yet the thought of Ada Wong seemed burned into the skin of his mind like a tattoo laced and sealed with a venom that paralyzed him. When he had learned that she had survived, that tattoo that began to fade away was redone, the ink bleeding deeper into his mind and tainting any feelings he could have had for anyone else.

At least, until now.

But what point was there in having feelings for Claire? She was already with someone. Leon felt the rush of his realization slow and begin to plummet as he sat on the bed and listened to the scant traces of the song.

It didn't matter how much he cared about Claire Redfield. Ada Wong, whether he liked it or not, was a part of him that would scar him for the rest of his life. The bullet wound in his shoulder was proof of that.

Yet, just because a person leaves a scar, that does not mean that the person should dominate his life. The suddenly uplifting thought brought a glimmer of hope to Leon. And after all, people fell in and out of love all of the time, didn't they?

He recalled how Claire seemed to be seeing much less of Justin these days. To be honest, he remembered how she said she was planning on breaking up with him, since she saw for herself just what he was.

Maybe this was his chance. Maybe… Claire Redfield was his one chance at escaping the pain that stung his shoulder and rested in his heart.

And maybe… he hoped… that he was what Claire needs.

Leon Scott Kennedy laid down on the bed with his hands resting under his weary head. As he closed his eyes, he listened intently to the final lyrics of the song, his mind focusing on Claire Redfield.

_"I'm in love with my lust! Burning angel wings to dust! I wish I had your angel tonight!"_

_"I wish I had an angel! I wish I had an angel! I wish I had an angel! I wish I had an angel!"_

To Leon, Claire was his angel.

But how would he tell her? More importantly… when?


End file.
